The Best Thing I Got
by Pebblemist of LightClan
Summary: Maya had never realized how much the Matthews loved her. Nor had she realized how much she'd loved and needed them. Until now. One-shot


**Hey, guys! Pebble here with a one-shot based on the song 'Best Thing I Got' by Sabrina Carpenter. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my other fics. I've just come down with a serious case of writer's block. But I got some inspiration from the song (which if you haven't listened to, you should) so I wrote this! Enjoy!**

**I don't own Girl Meets World or Best Thing I Got. What, did you think I did?**

"Abraham Lincoln!" Mr. Matthews said, as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.

Maya Hart tapped her pencil against her desk, boredly staring at the board, on which her history teacher had written, in his girly handwriting, 'Abraham Lincoln.' This was her second favorite class. Not because she liked history, because she didn't. But Cory Matthews was the only teacher that let her walk all over him. And no matter how much she did it, he never let her fail.

"Abraham Stinkin'!" she called out in the same tone of voice that Mr. Matthews had used.

He paused to stare at her. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Flustered.

Maya smirked. How was it that she, a twelve year old, was able to outsmart a grown man? It was a mystery, even to her.

"Ahem," Mr. Matthews cleared his throat. "Abraham Lincoln. What do you already know about him.

Maya raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Hart?"

"He was a president, sir," she stated the obvious. Mr. Matthews rolled his eyes, and continued the lesson.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maya noticed that the brunette sitting next to her had raised her hand. She turned in her desk, curious as to what she would say.

Riley sat up straight in her desk, her hand raised and her bright brown eyes staring at Mr. Matthews expectantly.

"Yes, Riley?" asked.

"Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States during the Civil War," Riley said, sounding confident of her answer.

"Which we learned about weeks ago," Maya added. "Why are we learning about Honest Abe now?"

"Because, yes, we learned about the Civil War, but we never learned about the events after it, or about President Lincoln's life, did we?"

"No, but didn't we learn about his life in, like, Kindergarten?" piped up a student who's name Maya had never bothered to remember.

Maya sighed and leaned back in her desk, blowing a stray strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Tonight, you are to write a three paragraph essay on the life of Abraham Lincoln. Now, let's start jammin' some learnin' into your heads!" Mr. Matthews said excitedly.

It was going to be a long lesson.

...

Maya stared at the ceiling. Her blue eyes sparkled with tears that she was fighting back. She had been told by Mr. Matthews to stay after class. He had to run to get something real quick, but he'd promised to be back soon.

Maya tapped her fingers against her desk, keeping a steady beat. She felt uneasy. Whatever this was about, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

The door creaked open. Maya sat up quickly, expecting Mr. Matthews to walk through the door.

But it wasn't him. It was Riley.

She walked with a certain bounce to her step, her eyes wide with excitement, her brown hair flowing behind her. She giggled happily.

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Riley? What are you doing here?" Was this the 'something' that Mr. Matthews was going to get. His daughter? Her best friend? But she would certainly be at the Matthews' apartment after school. What was so important that it couldn't wait til then?

Riley giggled again. "You'll see," was all she said before plopping into the seat next to Maya.

Maya sighed. "I love you, Riles, but sometimes I just want to choke you!"

"What's that about choking people?" Mr. Matthews asked as he walked into the room. He was holding a plastic bag.

Maya stared at him. "What's in the bag?" she asked.

Riley smiled. "You'll see. After you close your eyes."

Maya put her hands on her hips. "Why do I have to close my eyes?"

"Because I told you to," Riley said a-matter-of-factly. Maya sighed. Riley could be so childish sometimes. She closed her eyes rather reluctantly.

She could hear Mr. Matthews rummaging through his desk drawers, and Riley fumbling in the plastic bag. Maya's heart raced. What could they be up to?

She felt be lowered around her neck, and heard the 'click' of something. A flat thing, most likely a piece of paper, was placed on her desk.

"You can open your eyes now!" Riley said, sounding really excited. Maya opened her eyes. Shelooked down. Around her neck was a golden, heat-shaped locket, similar to the one she'd taken from the lost and found.

"I-I-I don't know what to say," Maya whispered. For the first time in her life, she was speechless.

"Just open it," Riley said anxiously. Slowly, Maya opened the locket.

Inside was a picture of the two of them, smiling goofily, having the time of their lives. Maya instantly recognized the photo. At a sleepover that summer, Maya had broken down crying to Riley about how her father never sending her stuff. She remembered it clearly.

_"Maya, it's okay," Riley soothed. Maya buried her face into her hands._

_"It's like he doesn't even care that I exist!" She cried._

_Her hair fell into her face, but she didn't care. But Riley did. She leaned over, and pulled the hair out of her face before grabbing Maya's head and forcing her to look up._

_"Maya, look at me," she said firmly. "If your father doesn't want to be in your life, it's his problem. You're a wonderful person, Maya. You're pretty, you're smart, you're funny. He doesn't know what he's missing. It's his loss."_

_Maya sniffed. "You really think so?"_

_Riley hugged her. "I know so."_

_"What did I ever do to deserve such a great best friend?"_

"What did I ever do to deserve such a great best friend?" Maya asked, reflecting back on the events of that night. They'd had a pillow fight and eaten ice cream and just hung out for the rest of the night.

"I don't know, but I'm glad you did it," Riley said, making Maya smile.

"Now turn the paper over," Mr. Matthews instructed.

Maya's attention turned to the piece of paper on her desk. She turned it around to see that it was a test that wasn't supposed to be handed back until the next day. On it, in red ink, was a big A-plus. But there was writing underneath it. Her heart skipped a beat when she read it.

'See how easily an F can be turned into an A?'

"I-I got an A-plus. . . but Mr. Matthews," Maya couldn't believe this wasn't a joke. "I'm a solid D student!"

"Not anymore, Maya," Riley pointed out. Maya smiled.

"Thanks, you guys," she said sincerely.

"No problem, Maya," Mr. Matthews said with a grin.

...

"Today, I want you to draw something that means a lot to you," the art teacher said as she walked throughout the classroom.

Maya knew exactly what she was going to draw. She gave Riley a quick glance before looking down at her new locket. She smiled, taking a peek inside. She laughed to herself at the goofy picture inside.

Taking a deep breath, she closed the locket, and began to draw the thing that meant the most to her.

...

"Mr. Matthews?" the teacher walked into the history classroom. Cory was grading work at his desk.

"Yes?" he said without looking up, intent on finishing the grading that day.

"In my class, I had my students draw what meant the most to them. I decided that you might want to see this. . . interesting piece I received from Miss Hart."

She handed him a drawing. A very detailed sketch of a woman, a little boy with curly hair, a girl, and. . . himself. Everything about the drawing was perfect.

It was his family. Topanga, Cory, Auggie and Riley. And the caption read 'The Best Thing I Got.'

The picture warmed Cory's heart. He smiled, and handed the picture to the art teacher.

"Thank you for showing this to me," he told her. "It was very. . . interesting." The teacher smiled and left.

Cory watched her leave. Once he was sure she was gone, he chuckled to himself.

"That girl may come from a long line of Clutterbuckets, but she's all Hart."


End file.
